You've Got to Try This, It's Amazing

A number of years ago, I was sitting on the sofa, knitting, and listening to an audiobook. A strange noise could be heard coming from the kitchen. It took me a moment to understand the strangeness. There was a lapping sound, but no 'ting'.

Ava had a metal dog tag on her collar. When she was drinking water from her bowl there would be a few 'tings' - the metal of the dog tag gently striking the metal of her bowl. But this particular day, there was no 'ting'.

I got up and went to investigate. 

In the kitchen, there was fully grown Northern Inuit standing on her hind legs, lapping away at the lasagna I'd just finished preparing. All of the white sauce, and cheese had been licked off the surface. 

Ava turned, looked at me, and the message in her eyes was, "You've got to try this! It's amazing." 

Good Bye, Good Dog

We can't quite believe it. We've had our final walk with Ava.

The medication prescribed for Ava helped her a great deal. However, the damage done to the disks in her spine caught up with her, and she was finding it very difficult to walk. 

We've taken the hardest decision, and went with tears in our eyes to visit the vet. She took one look at us and knew why we were here. I put on a pretense of wanting her opinion. The vet, Louisa,  was very kind and listened to my description of Ava's deterioration. I then asked for her opinion. She replied that in our position, she would put the dog to sleep. Technically, that's when we made the decision, but we knew the day before that Ava would not be coming home with us.  

Ava was given a sedative, and we sat around her telling her what a good dog she was, and that we loved her. Then Louisa gave Ava the final injection, and she slowly stopped. There was one spasm, and it looks so much like Ava was snuggling into C for one last hug. 

A friend said, "Better a week too early than a day too late."  If we'd left it any later, I don't think Ava would have been able to walk. It would have been very distressing for her. 

A terrible decision to make, but ultimately the right one.

Ava's Diagnosis

 

Ava has been with us for just over a five years. She is now 13 and a half years old, which is a good age for a large dog. However, she's been finding it harder and harder to stand up from lying down, and her ability to walk safely on laminate floors has plummeted.  'Bambi on ice' is a good description.

We've been to visit the vet today, and mentioned her problems. Whilst the vet was examining Ava she found a lump on an anal glad. The vet became serious, and explained she had found a tumour, and that it was most like cancer. This was most definitely not the news we were expecting to hear.

The vet has recommended palliative care for Ava. This is based on her age, and hip/spine problems. We agree. We don't want Ava to be put through CT scans, surgery, chemo therapy, etc. She is an old lady, and we want the rest of life is good, and with as little pain as possible.

Afterwards, we took a car trip to the beach. The humans had hot food (it is January!) and Ava had ice cream. She was delighted with this. We then had a walk along the promenade, said hello to puppies, and received cuddles from other humans. 

Stormy Seas, but Happy Dog

The weather was beautiful for travelling home yesterday. Today, it's a bit of a mare! Although the sea looked absolutely stunning. We took a walk along Douglas Prom/beach after collecting Ava from the kennels. She loved being back with her pack, and wasn't at all phased by the size of the waves crashing down near the entrance to the Prom parking area. All she cared about was the smells, and being close to her humans.

We collected her from kennels, and she was delighted to see us. She just ran from one to another getting cuddles and expressing her happiness. The guy at the kennels was telling us how beautiful she is, and how well she had behaved. He's been walking her with a husky, and the two were an absolute dream, and never pulled. They enjoyed spending time together, and would sing from time to time. 

Ava's Christmas

Ava has been with us just over a year. She is now very much part of our pack, and she loves it when we are all together, especially when we go out for a walk.

The first few nights she was with us she slept in the sitting room, and we could tell where she had been by looking at the pattern of white hair. Then, we started noticing an increase in the hair on the blue carpet outside the bedroom doors. That's when we took her unused bed from the sitting room and put it in our bedroom. When we called her up to bed that night she ran up the stairs, saw her bed and launched herself at it. That was really a 'Yes. This is MY home.' moment.

MSPCA Awards

We have just returned from the MSPCA Awards for Dogs Rescued in 2017. It was utterly wonderful.

Since Ava arrived in December 2017, we have been teaching her some new tricks and have been working with her to improve commands like 'stay' when the back door of the car is opened. (We definitely don't want her jumping out, and risking the possibility to running into traffic.) However, we have had (a few shoes discounted) an exceptionally easy ride with Ava. She is so loving and chilled.

Today, we met dogs who have had a horrible start in life, and who have overcome such terrible things. It was fantastic seeing the staff responding to the dogs they have cared for, and learning of how the dogs have bloomed in their new loving homes.

Ava - the Might Guard Dog

Ava, the might guard dog, always ready to protect us. Except she has never shown any aggression to any person, and has never raised her voice to anyone. 

A plumber came today to fix our broken loos (yes, both!). The front door was open and Ava was lying on the cool tiles of the hall, looking out of the front door down to the garden gate. The plumber shouted into the house that he had arrived. I came down the stairs to find him look at Ava. His first comments were 'Fantastic guard dog.' Yup, that's Ava. She'll let anyone into the house, but she will extract a payment of some belly scritches.

A couple of weeks ago, the postie had a difficult job trying to deliver a letter. Ava was sitting right by the gate. He made the mistake of reaching through the gate to give a scritch, and Ava didn't want this state of affairs to stop. She wouldn't move. 

Home Again

The Beloved has a wood turning workshop today. He dropped us off at the kennels on the way to the workshop, and the Younger Offspring and I collected Ava. She had been in the kennels before as a rescue dog, and we were worried she might think she had been rejected and taken back there.

However, when she saw us, she went rather bananas, well, bananas-ish as she is a very cool, laid back dog. In the six months we have had her, it was the first time she has jumped up on me. Her bottom was very wiggly, and my face received a very good wash. Many, many times, a cold wet nose was gently pushed into my hand and snuggles requested. I think she missed us.

After collecting her there was a 40 minute wait for the next bus. It was obvious she wanted to get going, but we had to hang around the car park, waiting for the bus.  She was good on the bus (her third journey).

When we arrived back in town, she took a good look around, and it felt like she was thinking, "Ah, right, I know where I am now." Lots of sniffing happened, more snuggles, and many looks behind to make sure we were still there.

A trip to The Eatery was next. The sign on their door says "Well behaved dogs welcome." She's been there three times, and rather likes it. This time, there was a cold sausage and a bowl of water too. Now she really likes it.

And home. She has now relaxed and is having a snooze.

Laxey Glen

This wonderful place is Laxey Glen. It's not too far from home, but it's absolutely beautiful. Yesterday, we had a lovely walk along the flat part of the glen. The skies were blue, the water rushing, gushing and glubbing, blue bells are just making their presence known. The sun was shining, and a very, very pleasant time was had by all, especially Ava. She loves being off the leash and having the chance to run and sniff and investigate.

The next stop was Laxey Station. A great deal of work has been done in the station area, and it's looking great. The stone paving has come from the same quarry as the paving in Castletown. The fossils and corals, and rock colours are so similar.

A group of bikers were cooing over Ava, declaring her to be beautiful. 'Beautiful' was very interested in the ice creams we had, and I shared mine with her. When eating ice cream for a little spoon she is a dog of grace and delicacy. However, when I gave her a whole scoop she wolfed it down in one!  No more ice cream by the scoop or she'll have a sore tummy.

All in all, a very pleasant little jaunt in the Manx countryside.

Ava, the New Door Mat

I appear to have a new door mat!

When I came close she raised her head and started panting. Well, yes, you will pant if you are snoozing in the sun! 

The sound of her water bowl being emptied and re-filled with cold water caused some gentle movement. And she has since decided snoozing on the back step is not the bestest place to be.

Isle of Man Art Festival

The May bank holiday long weekend is when the Art Festival takes place. It's an annual celebration of art on the island. There's such a variety of art and a range of styles. My joints haven't allowed me to see or do much, but today we saw some of the sights in the south.

The picture above is a "5 minute portrait" of Ava. It's a lovely little cartoon portrait of a lovely dog. It was painted by an artist who has recently moved to the island, Kim Gee. It was wonderful watching her paint Ava from a photograph on a phone. She is a talented woman.

Across the road, in another venue, was a woman who was making a Loaghtan sheep from willow and corkscrew hazel wands. The willow was fresh, but the hazel dry. When the sculpture has been finished, she will plant climbers to grow through it. The hazel will only last about two years, but it will provide enough support for the climbers to become established. These will then hold the sheep together, and give it a fine, green coat.

The Beloved was chatting with Graham Hall, a wood turner. Graham is thinking about offering courses; he Beloved's eyes lit up.  Graham's neighbour is Nicola Dixon. Nicola's passion is painting the sea, coast and the animals to be found there. We have a few of her paintings (prints unfortunately). She has recently branched out into printing on fabric. On sale were legging, cushions, aprons, little cowls and a dress. It's all in the early stages, but I know I want to buy a couple of metres of in a cotton. 

The bi-annual quilting exhibition was part of the art festival this year. It was fascinating looking at the designs of others. One block of a quilt caught my eye, a very stylised tree. I'm now imagining a similar tree, but with the names of all of the members of our family written on leaves.

An Action-packed Afternoon

This is Chicken Thief, formerly known as Ava. On Monday evening she wandered into the kitchen and snatched a chicken carcass and started chopping on it. Chicken skin - good. Chicken meat - good. Chicken stock - good. Chicken bones - bad! She managed to eat a thigh or two and a wing. Not a lot for the size of dog she is, but enough to cause problems.

Ava had been having problems with diarrhea last week, and had been on rice and chicken/salmon. On Tuesday, her poo was the consistency of  soft serve ice cream, with bones. Today, she was back to diarrhea, but some drops of fresh blood, and she was also straining to poo, with nothing coming out.

The interwebs recommendation was to take her to the vet. I called and explained the situation. The vet said they weren't hugely worried, but would like to see her just to make sure. After the vet examined Ava, she was wasn't too concerned, but gave her some medication that will help her colon. She was please to see Ava, but wasn't worried for her as she is bright, lively and interested in things. We've been asked to keep her on rice and chicken (or salmon) for 72 hours. The vet expects everything to work its way through her system.

And now we need to get a system sorted whereby the Chicken Thief can't have access to chicken carcasses!

The Laxey Wheel Keeps Turning

Laxey Wheel, the world's largest working waterwheel. It's big! The wheel is powered by water held in a cistern, fed by several streams in the hills above Laxey. It was built to pump out the mine in the hills. A wet day, like today, provides the raw material (water) for this wheel to keep turning.

The Zig Zag Blanket is coming on nicely. I would have been ready for a return trip to Laxey to buy more yarn on Saturday, but The Beloved has a training course. The Younger Offspring and I decided we would take the bus, and bring Da Hound too. 

It was her first time on a bus, and whilst she was well behaved, she was a little unsettled. She perked up during her walk in Laxey, sniffing the new smells and wagging her tail at random people. She also enjoyed staring at the de facto JJ Ribbons shop cat.  JJ Ribbons is a craft shop, curtain makers and little cafe. Many people think the cat is the craft shop cat, but she's really just a visitor. She belongs to one of their neighbours, and the cat keeps coming to visit. She likes the company. 

The journey back was interesting as the open spaces on the bus were taken up by a sleeping baby in a pram, and an older man with a walker. Their needs trump the needs of a crafty person with a dog. One of the passengers suggested sitting in the seats above the wheel arches. The seats there face each other. It worked really well. Ava was more settled on the second journey. We have decided to try to take her on a short bus journey each week. 

I can't quite believe I bought 10 balls of yarn today. In my very slight defense, they were only 50g balls. However, I would not have had enough yarn to keep me going until a week on Saturday, and I so didn't want to stop. Putting the work down can often mean it doesn't get picked back up, especially if another project has been started.

A Blizzard of Hair!

This is not Ava, but a random Huskie and his 'shadow'.

Oh my! When I was growing up we had dogs, and I thought I knew that I was in for with regards to shedding. And I was wrong, totally and utterly wrong!

It started with a few more hairs than normal, then tufts started coming away. Currently, Ava's thick winter undercoat has mostly been shed, but it is being held in place by the longer guard hairs. Today, I have groomed her four times, and had to stop, not because the grooming had been completed, but to give her a rest from all of the physical attention. Each time there was the equivalent of a football-sie cloud of Ava-hair. Some of this has been stuffed into a net (formerly used to hold lemons) and it's now outside, ready for any nest-building birds to come and use for nest lining.

Tomorrow we start again. 

Schmackos are Grrrreat!

Ava loves Schmachos! Utterly loves Schmackos! 

When Ava came to us we had no idea what sort of training she had. She didn't respond to 'sit', 'down', 'stay', 'wait', 'come', etc. We have been using Schmackos in training as rewards. It took a few days of applying gentle pressure to the rump whilst saying 'Sit' before she got the general idea. On Tuesday, a friend was round and said to a sitting dog 'down', and she did it! 

Ava has started sitting at the first hint of treats being around, and we are no longer rewarding 'sit' or 'come'. Instead 'down' gets treats. 

Earlier we played a game of 'Find it'. A treat was placed in a muffin tin and all the holes covered by balls of paper. It requires a few mighty sniffs to locate the treat, and then pushing the paper aside to uncover it. This game went down well.

Puppy-sitting

I am utterly exhausted. Yesterday and today have been spent puppy-sitting for this little chap (well, a puppy who looks very much like this one). Puppies have so much energy. They bounce, they trounce, they lick, they nip and they are hard, hard work.

Coming home to Ava was such a delight. Her idea of a good time is to snuggle up on the sofa with me and be stroked. Walking her is a joy. There's no pulling, no pooh eating, no chasing cars, and she doesn't suddenly just sit and refuse to walk until a treat is given. 

Afternoon Walkies

The advice given by the MSPCA was to keep Ava on a leash for three weeks before letting her have free runs. The idea is that during that time the dog and humans will form a bond, and the dog won't just run away when let off the leash. 

We've taken her on a beach walk at Peel, and a little off-leash experiment at Groudle Beach. Groudle is an isolated, enclosed beach. It's also very rocky. Ava enjoyed exploring the area but kept pretty close. 

Yesterday we decided on Port Erin Beach, and she enjoyed herself free running and meeting other dogs. She especially enjoyed the four bloodhound puppies we met. Puppies seem to be fascinating to her. It was the puppies first time out, and they enjoyed all of the fuss and attention from Ava and her humans.

We noticed a sign outside The Bay Hotel, "Dog welcome with well behaved owners". The Beloved went to the bar for a round of Coke. I took of my waterproof jacket, and Ava hopped onto the bench seating. Ava was told to get down, and then forcibly removed from the seat. When she first jumped up I saw the bar staff look over. As I had the situation in hand nothing was said. A few moment more and she hopped up again. Again she was told to get down and the command was backed up with action. I was thinking 'Dog, you are going to get us thrown out!'. Thankfully, we were able to keep her on the floor. Not too bad for a first time. It is to be hoped we won't have similar problems in the future.

My Dog, the Leather Fetishist

First there was a pair of light blue shoes, the strap on one shoe was chewed. Foolishly, I didn't dispose of the shoes immediately, but put them in the bin. Ava removed them during the night and chewed them again. Her original leather leash has been chewed half way though. The Beloved's satchel strap has been chewed. 

Yes, I have a dog with a leather fetish!

Ava's First Night

At 2pm yesterday, we went to collect Ava. She was happy to see us, but then got a little distracted by the bags of cat treats in the office. 

The car ride home was interesting. Ava was in the back of our hatchback, and C (The Younger Offspring) had their hand over to reassure her. This didn't work terribly well. After a little whines, Ava decided to climb over the back seat to be with us. Thankfully, it was a small, country road with no traffic, and there was a car park very close by. Ava ended up sitting on the back sear, looking out of the windows.

At home, she had a good sniff and explore. After a hour or so, The Beloved and I went out shopping, leaving Ava alone with C. This did not go without incident. A pair of my shoes has been chewed, and are now in the bin.

At 7am, I got up and went to the loo. A doggy shape emerged from the sitting room. This was accompanied by a waggily tail, the waggiliest I have seen from Ava. She came up the stairs to greet me and have a bit of love.  

I shall admit to wondering whether we would have a disturbed night, and if there would be destruction this morning. There was a slightly disturbed night, I woke at 2.45 and 5; I think this was just me listening out for noises.  And everything was exactly as it should be. I could see where Ava had been sleeping on the sofa, her white hair testifies to that.

The morning walk went well, although Ava was pulling a little at the start. I think it was excitement.

Ava Lovelace

On Sunday, we go to collect Ava Lovelace, the beautiful northern Inuit. She is coming to have a week-long home stay trial. We are all rather excited about this. The work to make the garden safe and secure for Ava has started in earnest.

Yesterday, work started in the garden. The guy who was meant to be removing garden rubbish, and the old sheds is now unable to do this due to van problems. As Ian the builder was inspecting the drains, I was tidying up some of the garden clutter, shoving greenery, old pots, etc into sturdy bags. Then it was on to moving the newer of the two sheds (all in bits), and working hard.  I manged to get swathes of the garden ready, and we then moved the old shed. He was delighted to hear the old shed will be remaining on site as they can use it to store stuff.

Then the gardener who created various piles at least four weeks ago came to remove his piles and pots. The stuff by the gate was removed, and he will come back another day to remove the rest. of the garden refuse. I'd given up on him returning. Hopefully he will really be back in a few days. If he's not been back by Monday I'll bag up the remaining rubbish and get it all transferred to the side where the rest of the rubbish is. 

The foundations for the new wall have been excavated. Currently, the old pillars are coming down and they will pour the foundations later. We need to have  chat about the planters/raised beds. My hope is the rubble from the pillars and the excavation soil can be used to provide drainage for the planters.

As Ian was working yesterday a couple of people say the piles and asked if certain items were going to be disposed of. Two sets of ladders, and various plant pots, and a chamber pot have all be taken.